Maybe there is nothing I can do but one of my stock front fork sliders is beginning to discolor. Eventually I'm going to replace them with crome but until then anyone have any suggestions on how to get them back to "normal"?

 

You could buy the extra set that I have or good old elbow grease water and 2000 grit paper.....

 

Use paint stripper ( be careful not to get any on the fork seals) to remove the clear coat. Then polish the tube.

 

any body got the name of a good paint stripper to use on the clear coat???

 

I wouldn't do this with the forks on the bike. You know "Murphy"?, he usually shows up when you are trying to do things like this. Get any paint remover on your painted surfaces and you're screwed!

 

To remove the clear finish on the sliders you need to use an "aircraft coating stripper" ($9 at NAPA), the other paint strippers that I have tried were a waste of time and money. Use a soft plastic putty knife to gently scrape the finish off the parts ith no damage to the aluminum or surface from the scraping process. I did this this week and many times in the past and never had a problem with the outcome.

Here's a link to the re-coating process or there is a sponsor here that will powder coat them with a chrome look and protective finish for around $100.

http://www.por15.com/Data%20Sheets/g...directions.pdf

 

600 then , 800 then , 1000 grit wet/dry paper. But cut into strips and placed in a pan of water near you. Sit on the floor, or put the bike on a lift (strapped down!), and start pulling strips in a "boot shine" fashion to get the clear off. Then merely polish them like ordinary aluminum, with Mother's Aluminum polish or similiar.

My friend was angry that I had put on chromed lowers, until he got closer and realized that I spent some time on them. They look really good, and you just have to "maintain" them every few months with Mother's. Come to think of it, I will clean them up again this weekend!

Good luck.